Birding Australia

Keen birders will love discovering our 750 + species

Australia’s long isolation and tectonic stability has resulted in a wide variety of extraordinarily specialized habitats - from the pockets of tropical rainforest in north Queensland, which hosts the greatest biodiversity anywhere in Australia, to the massive spaces in the inner part of the continent where desert and semi-arid conditions preinate, the snow capped peaks and moorland of Tasmania and some remarkable islands.  Places such as Lord Howe and Norfolk Island as well as the likes of Christmas Island and Macquarie Island add a number of species to Australian bird lists.  In the Cape York Peninsula and the Torres Strait Islands, Australia shares a number of species with Papua New Guinea, notably the Birds of Paradise and the extraordinary bowerbirds. 
In northern Australia the extremes of the ‘wet’ season results in vast congregations of species about floodwaters when breeding conditions are suitable before focusing in dense pockets on drying lagoon and swamps in the ‘dry’ season.
The topography of the Great Dividing Range is a major influence on many of Australia’s species resulting in a greater number of species to be found in eastern parts of the country.
Migrants form a moderate number of Australian species, particularly the huge number of Asiatic waders that arrive during September and October for the Australian summer to feed in the food-rich estuaries and wetlands of our north.  Roebuck Bay at Broome is arguably the greatest wader site in the country and sees huge concentrations of birds in the summer months. 
Birding sites in inland Australia go through boom/bust cycles with large numbers and many species congregating at certain sites because weather conditions have been unusually favourable in a particular year for breeding.  For example, the Cooper Creek and Lake Eyre in outback South Australia in a good year provide one of the most remarkable bird spectacles in the world, however, the keen birder needs to pick his or her time carefully as for the most part these regions will be dry and seemingly lifeless. 

Below is information on notable birding regions.

Cape York Peninsula

This region is notable for its links with New Guinea and birds such as the Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Magnificent Riflebird and Fawn-breasted Bowerbird.  The region is remote and generally requires a number of days on the road to access key sites.  Accommodation is generally basic, often camping out and areas are only reached by 4WD.
Best time:   June to late November in the Lakefield National Park and Iron Range on the east coast as the wet season makes many roads impassable from December onwards.  At Bamaga on the tip of Cape York, the early wet season (November to early January) provides excellent birding before the heavy rains set in.

The Daintree

The wet tropical rainforests and tablelands in the mountainous strip of rainforest in the Great Dividing Range north and south of Cairns harbours the country’s greatest diversity of birdlife.  The habitat changes in a very short distance from coastal plains to rainforest and through wet sclerophyll to savannah woodland on the inside of the Great Dividing Range.  Notable species include the endangered Southern Cassowary, a variety of colourful tropical pigeons and forest honeyeaters, Paradise Kingfisher, Great-billed Heron, Sarus Crane and a number of bowerbird species. Julatten, the Atherton Tablelands and the Daintree and Mossman Rivers all provide excellent birding opportunities.
Best time:  June to January is the main birding season with October to January being the prime time.  Migrants arrive through September.  Rainforest birding is harder work in the cooler months (May to August).

South-east Queensland

The Lamington National Park is one of Australia’s best known birding spots with temperate and warm subtropical rainforests as well as eucalypt forests providing the opportunity to spot Lyrebirds, Logrunner, Regent Bowerbird, the exceptionally rare Rufous Scrub-bird.  There are also a couple of well known rainforest lodges that provide local guides and bases from which to explore the ranges.
Best time:  September to January (Spring) is when the migrants have returned and breeding has started.  November and December are the best months for rainforest birds, while the winter months (May to August) are disappointing.  Albert’s Lyrebird is vocal and visible all year round.

Sydney Region

The Capertee Valley, 150 kms north-west of Sydney, is one of Australia’s top birding spots.  Species regularly recorded here include the Regent Honeyeater, Plum-headed Finch, Turquoise Parrott and Painted Button-Quail.  The Barren Grounds Nature Reserve on the escarpment just south of Sydney is one of the best places to spot Ground Parrots, Eastern Bristlebird, Southern Emu-Wren and Pilotbird and has recorded 160 species.
Best time:  Spring and early Summer (September to January) is excellent as the migrant species have returned and are breeding.  Heathland areas are also good in late autumn and winter when many heathlands plants are in flower, with honeyeaters and other nectar-feeding birds in large numbers.

Lord Howe Island

This tiny island off New South Wales is famous for its seabirds and the number that use the island for breeding.  Famous for the Lord Howe Island Woodhen, a fearless and flightless bird that has been brought back from the edge of extinction, and as almost the only breeding site for Providence and Kermadec Petrels, and home to one of the world’s largest breeding concentrations of Red-tailed Tropicbirds, Lord Howe is a spectacular island surrounded by the southern-most coral reefs in the world.

Best time:  Seabird activity is best in October to March, with a peak in November, while many species move away in the winter months.

Tasmania

The southern island state’s spectacular scenery is home to 12 endemic species and the waters offshore provide an excellent chance of spotting albatross.  Many seabirds migrate north to escape the Antarctic winter, while some Asiatic waders also leave the Northern Hemisphere winter for Tasmania.  Bruny Island provides the chance to see all of Tassie’s endemic species as well as the Swift Parrot, for which the island is one of its last breeding locations.  A visit to Melaleuca in the heart of the South-west wilderness is one of the few opportunities to see the rare Orange-bellied Parrot, which migrates every year across Bass Strait before returning to breed in Tasmania in the summer months.
Best time:  Tasmania’s short summer season (December to February) is the best and most pleasant time to birdwatch as some of the breeding species migrate to mainland Australia.

South Australia

Provides the opportunity of coastal birds on Kangaroo Island (also home to Cape Barren Geese, Glossy Black Cockatoos and Western Whipbird) and the Great Australian Bight with easily accessible and spectacular outback country in the Flinders and Gawler Ranges where Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos are a possible sighting.   The Coorong provides one of the most important wetlands in Australia with aquatic birds and Asiatic waders.
Best time:  Generally spring and early summer (September to December) when migrants and Asiatic waders return in August/September.  Some native plants flower in April to June also provide good opportunities.

South-western Australia

This region is notable for its extraordinary wildflowers but also the fact that it has more endemic species and significant sub species than any other region in Australia.  For the serious birder the challenge is to spot the Noisy Scrub-bird, Western Bristlebird and Western Whipbird.
Best time:  September to November is the best time but birding is also good into summer.  The Noisy Scrub-bird breeds from June to August when they are more vocal and easy to locate.  The wildflower season is from late August to October.

The Kimberley

Roebuck Bay, home to the Broome Bird Observatory, is probably Australia’s most important wader sites.  47 wader species have been recorded here and an estimated 2 million Asiatic waders ‘winter’ here. Mornington Sanctuary is a vast property in the heart of the Kimberley owned by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and one of few places in Australia where there is a chance to spot the unbelievably beautiful Gouldian Finch. 
Best time:  May to October is the most pleasant time to visit and the birding is good.  The Asiatic waders arrive in September/October and depart in March/April but some remain throughout the year.  Roads are impassable in many places during and after the Wet (January to May)

The Top End

Dominated by the Arnhem Land plateau and escarpment and the climatic extremes of the annual monsoon, this region has some of the largest numbers of birds as well as some of Australia’s least known species.  Kakadu National Park is the icon site with both ‘stone country’ and wetlands and is home to some 290 species while the Mary River floodplains play host to some of the most extraordinary concentrations of birds anywhere in Australia.
Best time:  May to September/October sees huge concentrations of waterbirds in the remaining waterholes and billabongs.  The Magpie Geese lay in the wet season with an explosion of life in April/May when the chicks hatch.

Wilderness Australia works with some of the top birding guides in the country, who know where to spot particular species and we can arrange an itinerary tailored to your specific interests.